Jo Ingleby, mum of two from St. Annes in Bristol, has been announced winner of the first national mushroom recipe competition hosted by Italian restaurant group Carluccio’s.
Jo – a chef, artist and teacher – has worked at the Vegetarian Cookery School in Bath since 2002, and was head chef at Demuths Restaurant for three years. It was her fresh herb ravioli with wild mushrooms, chestnuts and truffle butter that beat hundreds of other entries to take first place and the title of Carluccio’s ‘Best UK Mushroom Dish 2011’, as well as the chance to cook with Antonio Carluccio himself.
Carluccio’s ran the month long competition as part of its annual funghi festival, using Facebook and Twitter to encourage hungry fans to submit an original recipe celebrating their love of the mushroom.
The winning ravioli dish was announced the winner following a detailed taste test and debate by a panel of expert judges including Antonio Carluccio himself, journalists from BBC Good Food Magazine and the London Evening Standard and members of Carluccio’s team.
Second place went to a “simple yet moreish mushroom pate”, with an “innovative porcini porchetta” coming in 3rd. The judges were ultimately impressed by the combination of flavours in the ravioli dish and the technique used to incorporate fresh herbs into the pasta during prep, and chose Ms. Ingleby’s ravioli creation as the favourite. Antonio said the dish was “very original, with a good combination of flavours” and Sarah Cook, Deputy Food Editor at BBC Good Food Magazine commented that the “ricotta gives the dish a light fresh taste”.
Jo Ingleby’s fresh herb ravioli with wild mushrooms, chestnuts and truffle butter dish will be added to the specials board at Carluccio’s nationwide next year, including its Bristol restaurants at Quakers Friars and The Mall at Cribbs Causeway.
Competitions should not be made open to professional chefs. Surely they have their acclaimed fame within their profession. There are so many amateur chefs out there with such flare and creativity that deserve a chance to be recongnized perhaps?
That assumes that all chefs have or want fame within their profession. Chefs want to be good chefs. Competitions should be open to whoever wants to enter. I think you'll find that amateur chefs are called cooks.